The Infernal Machine
by EnigmaticAssassin
Summary: Word has reached the Assassin Brotherhood that a Royalist assassination attempt on Napoleon Bonaparte is to take place on Christmas Eve evening. The Brotherhood sends the Assassins Arno Dorian and Elise de la Serre to stop the attempt. (My take on the Co-op Mission The Infernal Machine). Please read and review!


The carriage carrying the Assassins Arno Dorian and Elise de la Serre arrived at Cafe Theatre on the cool afternoon of Christmas Eve. The door of the carriage opened, and Arno Dorian stepped out first, and held the door open for his wife. Elise shifted her one-year old son Francois to her left arm, and took Arno's hand as she stepped down onto the snowy road. Arno walked over to the carriage driver, while Elise took her son into the Cafe to get out of the cold.

"Thank you for the ride, Monsieur." Arno said, with a bow of his head and a smile.

"Anytime, Monsieur Dorian." The driver replied. "Sorry again for the delay getting out of Versailles."

"Not a worry." Arno stated. "The main thing is you got us back here safely. Thank you again."

The driver smiled, and watched as Arno walked into the Cafe to meet with his wife. Arno and Elise began their walk through the Cafe towards the Assassin headquarters, with the entrance being behind the stage.

"I wonder what this news is." Elise inquired, as they descended down the stairs past the armor room. "I'm getting really curious."

Arno opened the door, and held it open for Elise, who passed through.

"I'm getting quite curious as well." Arno replied, as he closed the door behind him. The couple walked through the cave, only lit by torches. It was a sight that never grew old to Elise's eyes. "I guess we will have to wait and see what the Council has in store. Be sure to grab your blade and cutlass before we go meet them."

Elise smiled as they reached the hallway leading to the main hall. Arno and Elise arrived at their sleeping quarters. Helene, Elise's nanny, caught wind of Elise.

"Welcome back, Madame Elise!" Helene greeted. Elise smiled at Helene.

"Good to be back." Elise replied, as she planted a kiss on Francois' forehead. "Would you be able to put him in his crib? It seems the Council wishes to speak with us."

"Certainly, Madame Elise." Helene said, as she took Francois from Elise, and cradled him as she put him in his crib. "They've been eagerly anticipating your arrival."

"Thank you, Helene." Elise said, with a smile. "We will go see them immediately."

Arno grabbed his cutlass, and slid it into his scabbard on his left hip. He then grabbed his hidden blade, slid it onto his wrist, and fastened the straps. Arno flicked out the blade, and flicked it back in. He dusted off his purple and gold robes, and looked over to Elise.

"I will meet you up in the main hall, my love." Arno informed Elise, as he left the room. Elise smiled, as she grabbed Kenway's Blade, a gift from Jennifer Scott, and placed it in the scabbard on her left hip. Elise grabbed her hidden blade and slid it on her wrist, and made her way out the door, up the stairs, and into the main hall. It was a sight that she had grown accustomed to over the past six years of her life. She darted up the stairs, and joined Arno, alongside Master Assassins Sophie Trenet, Herve Quemar, and Guillaume Beylier. Trenet beckoned Arno and Elise to have a seat. Elise and Arno heeded her command.

"Greetings Arno. Greetings Elise." Trenet greeted them. "We have a task for you."

Arno and Elise nodded their heads, and looked over to Beylier.

"We have received word from our associates around the city that there is going to be an Assassination attempt by Royalist forces on Napoleon Bonaparte. Their plan is to take place this evening. We wish for you two to investigate this, and bring the Royalist leader to justice."

Arno and Elise bowed their heads. Elise fastened the straps on her hidden blade, and flicked it out. Arno did the same.

"I suggest you head out there right now." Quemar added. "You may never know what could happen."

Arno and Elise nodded their heads, and walked out of the main hall.

"You heard Master Quemar!" Elise exclaimed, as she patted Arno on the back. "Best we get going!"

Arno smiled, and followed his wife as she darted out of the main hall and down the stairs towards the door leading to the Saint-Chappelle entrance. Elise pried the door open, holding the door open for Arno just enough so he could fit. He smiled as he watched his wife activate the mechanism in the floor of the cathedral. Arno watched as the floor peeled back, and allowed access for Arno and Elise. Elise darted up the stairs and ran for the door of the cathedral, while Arno took his time walking there, observing the damage left by the Revoultion. Arno looked around to see rubble on the floor, tiles uprooted, and the once pristine stained glass windows had holes in them from bricks and rocks thrown by the angered populace. Eventually meeting up with Elise, Arno placed his hands around her face gently, and looked his wife in the eye.

"Let's go save Napoleon." Arno told Elise, as the pair opened the door and set off for the Palais-Royal, with the sun setting ahead of them.

* * *

Arno and Elise arrived at the road leading to Palais-Royal, just before eight-thirty, according to Arno's pocket watch. Arno hid behind a building as he saw a man confront a National Guardsman. Behind him was a cart with a large barrel on it, lit up by the lights in the street.

"Turn those carts around!" The guardsman ordered. "Bonaparte will be passing this way!"

"You don't say." The man said, cocking his head. Arno and Elise watched in horror from behind the building as the man in red stabbed the guard.

"Our Lord and Saviour himself." He muttered under his breath, before beckoning his men to pull the cart through the street. "Take your positions, men."

Elise and Arno watched as the man pointed to where he wanted his men to go. Elise attempted to rush out, hidden blade extended, but Arno grabbed her arm, and brought her back to the building.

"What the hell Arno?" Elise whispered angrily. "Why'd you pull me back?"

"You can't act that brash, Elise." Arno informed her. "Lets head up to the rooftops, and better survey the area."

Elise nodded her head, and followed her husband up a small flight of stairs, with a short climb up to the rooftops. Arno walked up to the edge of the roof, and paused for a few moments, which activated his Eagle Vision. Arno noticed several red figures, all holding rifles, walking around impatiently. Arno looked down at Napoleon, who was getting into his carriage.

"Yes, yes. Mustn't be late for the damned Opera. The war doesn't even start until the fifth act." Napoleon muttered to himself, as he closed the door of his carriage. The carriage began to trot down the road where the snipers were located.

"Merde. There's too many snipers for us to take out." Arno said aloud. "What do we do?"

Elise looked around, and surveyed the area. Elise could see five snipers lined up along the main road, on the rooftops and inside the buildings. She nodded her head confidently, and looked back at Arno.

"We split up. Less of a chance of us getting caught that way." Elise replied. "I will handle the ones on the right side, while you take care of the ones on the left side here."

Arno smiled, and watched as Elise leaped onto the rope about the street, keeping her balance as she navigated her way over to the other side. Arno leaped over to the building on his left, and sneaked up on a sniper positioned in the window. Arno unsheathed his hidden blade, and stuck it into the sniper's jugular. The sniper fell to his knees, dead. Arno activated his Eagle Vision, and located the next sniper, who was located in the building after the one before him. As he was climbing, Arno glanced over to the other side of the street, to see Elise quietly killing the snipers, and any Royalists that got in her way. Arno free ran his way through a window, where he encountered a group of Royalists. Arno killed the first one, who was looking out a window, and hid behind a desk. Arno could her cheers of joy from outside.

"Look, could you keep it down over there? I am trying to concentrate." The sniper muttered to the plotter with him. The plotter pulled out his axe, and began to polish it.

"I'll try to walk more quietly while I'm protecting your arse." The plotter retorted sarcastically.

"Just a little closer..." The sniper whispered, as the carriage drew closer. Arno assassinated the plotter from behind the desk. Distracted, the sniper turned around, to face Arno.

"Murderous scum!" The sniper shouted at Arno, and pulled up his rifle. Arno could see Elise in the background. Just as the sniper was about to fire at Arno, the sniper fell to the ground, dead, with a Phantom Blade bolt in his neck. Arno looked over to Elise, who saluted him from afar. Arno smiled, as she beckoned him across. Arno walked a tight rope over to the other side as the carriage with Napoleon in it passed by. Arno leaped onto the roof of the building. Elise smiled when he arrived.

"How many snipers have you killed?" Elise asked Arno, as he dusted himself off.

"I have killed two." Arno replied. "Yourself?"

"I have killed three." Elise replied back to Arno. "Do you know where the rest are?"

Arno paused momentarily, and activated his Eagle Vision. Arno scoured the area, and picked up the locations of the rest of the snipers.

"There's four left." Arno stated. "All across the way, and one in the building ahead of us. 'l'll take care of the ones across the way. See to it the one in this building gets taken care of."

Elise nodded her head, and smiled as she watched Arno dart across to the other side, to take out the other three Royalist snipers. Elise pulled up her hood, and leaped into the window in front her, and quickly descended down the stairs to her right. In the room before her, Elise spied four Royalists in the room. Elise noticed a hiding area, and hid in it to wait for an opportunity to strike.

"How'd you end up here?" the first plotter asked, scratching his face.

"My brother died in the 13th of Vendemiaire. I want Bonaparte's head." the second plotter replied.

"What are you going to do when this is over?" Another plotter asked.

"I was thinking of paying a visit to the Assembly, and burn it to the ground." A fourth plotter replied.

Elise grabbed a smoke bomb, and tossed it among the four Royalists. The Royalists danced within the smoke, losing sight of their surroundings as Elise ended their lives with slashes of her hidden blade. By the time the smoke dissipated, Elise was in the building next door. Free of Royalists, Elise walked out on the balcony, just to see Napoleon's carriage roll by. Elise looked over to see Arno finish off the last Royalist sniper. Elise turned around to see the carriage with the barrel drive near the carriage of Napoleon. Elise looked up on the Palais-Royal balcony, and saw a sniper take aim at the barrel. The sniper fired his shot, and caused the barrel to explode. Elise shielded her face, but felt a piece of shrapnel hit her in the forehead. Elise felt her forehead, and noticed the presence of a cut on her forehead. Elise looked down at her glove, and saw her blood, shining in the moonlight. She looked down, as panic descended among the crowd. Elise looked down, to see a haystack. Elise performed a leap of faith, and waited for Arno on street level in the haystack.

* * *

"ELISE!" Arno shouted. He quickly descended the balcony he was standing on, and ran over to to the haystack Elise was in. Arno dug around in the haystack, and found his wife inside. Arno grabbed Elise's right hand, and hoisted her out of the haystack. Arno wiped the blood off of Elise's face.

"Elise! Are you alright?" Arno asked.

"I'm fine, Arno." Elise replied, looking at the blood on her left hand glove. "A sniper shot the barrel, causing it to ignite. The sniper was stationed on the balcony of the Palais-Royal. As for me, when the barrel ignited, a piece of shrapnel hit my forehead, cutting me in the process"

Elise pointed to the area where she had seen the sniper. Arno nodded his head.

"Hmm. Perhaps the sniper could lead us to where the culprit is. Let's go investigate."

Elise shook her head around, and followed her husband to the western end of the facade of Palais-Royal. Arno and Elise began their ascent up to the roof of the building. Arno made it up to the roof first, and helped Elise up. Elise dusted herself off before joining Arno.

"Where could this sniper be?" Arno asked Elise, sounding quite confused.

"He could have retreated further into the palace, but I am not too sure where off the top of my head." Elise replied.

"Don't worry, Elise. I'll find out where he is." Arno reassured his wife, as he paused momentarily, activating his Eagle Vision. Upon activation, Arno discovered the location of the sniper, as well as four locations marked in gold.

"What did you find, Arno?" Elise asked. Arno blinked, and looked back at his wife.

"I know where the shooter is." Arno replied. "He is on the second floor, right below where we are standing."

Arno pointed at his feet.

"There is another room with four boxes highlighted in gold in my Vision. There must be some information of some sorts in that second floor room to my left." Arno said, pointing to his left. "I'll go after the sniper, and see if I can get some answers off of him. You investigate the room, and see what you can find. Understood?"

Elise nodded her head, and set off for an open window nearest the room indicated in Arno's Eagle Vision. Arno paused, and activated his Eagle Vision. Arno noticed that the shooter had moved from the room he was in. Arno descended down the wall, down to an open window on the second floor, right below where he was standing. He entered the window. Arno again activated his Eagle Vision, and discovered the shooter walking down the hall, with what looked like a letter sticking out of his back pocket. Arno crouched down, hood up, and began to sneak up on his target. Arno eavesdropped on a conversation between the shooter and his accomplice.

"That was a nice shot!" The accomplice exclaimed.

"Thank you." The shooter replied, holstering his rifle on his back.

"Is Napoleon dead, then?" The accomplice asked, a concerned tone clouding his voice.

"I don't know." The shooter said, stroking his chin. "We're waiting on word."

"What's next?" The accomplice asked sternly. The shooter looked at his accomplice, not noticing Arno.

"We wait for orders." The shooter replied, with a stern tone of his own.

"What happens if he isn't dead?" The accomplice asked, a concerned tone back in his voice.

"We try again." The shooter replied sternly. "Until we get that bastard."

"A little stressed out now, are we?" Arno whispered to himself. Arno approached the shooter, and plucked the letter out of the shooter's pocket, and quickly scurried back to the room he entered. Arno quickly leaped out of the window, and climbed up onto the roof. Upon climbing up to the roof, Arno found his wife pacing back and forth, waiting for him. Elise smiled when she saw Arno.

"Welcome back, Arno." Elise greeted her husband. "What did you discover?"

Arno looked down at the letter he stole from the shooter, opened it, and read its contents.

"Well?"

"I think this letter contains the rough location of their headquarters, not far from the Seine." Arno replied, folding the letter. "What did you find, Elise?"

"After besting some Royalists in combat, I discovered the address of their headquarters, hidden in a drawer." Elise replied to Arno. "The address on 58 Rue Marchand from what I understand."

"Let's get going, Elise." Arno stated, as he began to run across the roof. Elise followed suit. "It won't be long before the shooter notices his letter is missing." The two Assassins reached the ledge of the roof, and spied a haystack. Elise approached the edge, and performed a leap of faith. Arno watched as his wife glided through the air, only to land in the snowy haystack. Once Arno saw Elise get out of the haystack, Arno himself performed a leap of faith, landing in the haystack with a loud thud. Arno dusted himself off, and looked over to see his wife holding her rapier, and saw blood welling from the cut on her forehead, rolling down her cheek.

"Elise, your cut is bleeding again." Arno informed her. Elise looked up at Arno and flicked out her Hidden Blade before running her fingers across her cheek, to look down at more blood. Arno handed her a handkerchief. Elise wiped the blood off of her cheeks and around her wound.

"Thank you, Arno." Elise replied, handing Arno the bloody handkerchief. Arno tossed it aside. Arno and Elise continued on from the Palais-Royal towards Rue Marchand, which was east of the palace. After running through the streets of Paris and evading objects for a couple of kilometers, Arno and Elise arrived at Rue Marchand. Arno looked down the street, and spied two Royalists guarding the road with spears.

"It looks like we will have to head up, then." Elise piped in. Arno looked back over at Elise, and began to climb up to the roof. Elise watched as her husband bounced from ledge to ledge flawlessly. Elise herself ran up to the wall, dug her feet in, and grabbed the ledge. Elise hoisted herself up to the ledge, and stood on the ledge. Elise continued her climb up the fragile white building. Elise leaped upwards, grabbing a window sill, and used the window to climb up to the rooftop. Upon her arrival up at the rooftop, Elise watched as Arno fired a Phantom Blade Bolt from his left wrist at a sniper. Arno looked over at his wife.

"Snipers, Elise." Arno told Elise. "They can be a real pain in the ass if you aren't careful."

Elise smiled at Arno.

"Are you saying this from experience, Arno?" Elise replied, a smile still on her face. Arno returned a smile to Elise.

"You bet I am." Arno replied, a smile coming across his face. Elise approached Arno, and stood beside him, surveying the area.

Arno activated his Eagle Vision, and scanned the area. Elise showed up in blue in his vision. Arno spied several Royalists, indicated by the red in his Eagle Vision. He eventually found his target, which was a shining gold in his Vision. Arno blinked, and his Eagle Vision vanished.

"I know where our target is, Elise." Arno stated, pointing to the building in front of them. "There are two entrances, both through windows, on each side of the building. I also saw two hiding spots in the same room. If we can get to them, we should be able to strike from them, but watch for my signal."

Elise looked down, and pointed to the congregation of Royalists beneath them.

"Brilliant idea, Arno." Elise said, as Arno came over to have a look at what she was pointing at. "What are we going to do about those aggressors?"

Arno pulled a cherry bomb off of his belt, gently tossed it in the air, catching it in his hand, before throwing it to the far right of the Royalists. The bomb exploded, giving off a small bang. All of the Royalists went over to investigate where the sound had come from.

"Thank the Ottomans for that one, Elise." Arno told her. "Hurry Elise! To the hiding spots!"

Elise and Arno quickly free ran their way across the rooftops, to the building where the Royalist leader was, all while the Royalist guards were still distracted by Arno's cherry bomb. Elise watched as Arno went around the building, and paused. Elise looked up to see two men walking out of the room. Once they were out of the room, Elise darted through the window, and into the hiding spot. Arno came in through the window on his side, and went into his hiding spot. Elise could hear the two men conversing in the other room.

"The carriage will be here any moment, sir." The first man said, with a reassuring tone.

"Tell them I'll be there in a minute." The second man replied angrily. "I need to go vent."

The man came into the room, and walked around for a moment. Elise identified him as the man who stabbed the National Guardsman earlier in the remembered him from somewhere, but couldn't put a name to the man. Elise unsheathed her hidden blade, but quickly flicked it back in.

 _Don't act that brash, Elise._ Elise told herself. _Wait for the right moment._

The man angrily threw his red hat to the ground, and then stroked his black moustache.

"All those snipers! THE MACHINE! I don't know what else there is to try!" the man shouted angrily, running his hands through his hair. "Devil take the man! Why couldn't he just DIE! Machine Infernale should have taken his bloody fucking life! NAPOLEON SHOULD BE DEAD!"

Elise watched Arno stick out two fingers from the cloth when the man turned around. Arno pointed at the man's knees, then at Elise. Arno then flashed a thumbs up.

 _GO!_ Elise burst from the the cover, slid on the wooden floor, and plunged her hidden blade into his right knee. The man screamed out in pain. Arno quickly left his cover, and thrust his hidden blade into his jugular as he was falling to the floor. The man's body fell to the floor, dead on contact. Arno closed the man's eyes.

"Repose en Paix." Arno whispered, as he closed the man's eyes. Arno got up from his knees, and dusted himself off. Elise approached Arno, and looked down at the fallen man. The name hit Elise.

"I know who this man was." Elise inquired.

"Who was he, Elise?" Arno asked, sounding confused.

"His name was Francois-Joseph Carbon." Elise replied. "He fought in the 13th Vendemiaire, and got trounced by Napoleon five years ago. I heard his name around Cairo while I was there an few months ago. It seems he followed Napoleon to Egypt, with the intent to end his life."

"Anyone who crosses Napoleon is an enemy to me." Arno added. "Let us leave, Elise. Before the Royalists know their leader has perished."

Elise and Arno leaped out the window, and free ran across the rooftops. Elise and Arno descended down to the streets, and walked across the Pont Notre-Dame. Elise and Arno passed by the Notre-Dame Cathedral, which dominated the dreary gray sky hanging over Paris.

"Don't forget about your cut, Elise. You may need stitches for it." Arno informed his wife.

"I will see if I can find a doctor tomorrow." Elise replied, reassuring her husband.

Elise and Arno crossed the Pont Rouge, and looked back at their fresh tracks in the snow upon arriving at Cafe Theatre. Arno looked at Elise.

"Merry Christmas, Elise!" Arno told his wife.

"Merry Christmas Arno!" Elise replied, as Arno brushed her hair away from her forehead, and planted a passionate kiss on her lips under the mistletoe.

* * *

The next morning, Elise de la Serre sat down in the main hall, with a doctor sitting to her left. Elise watched as the doctor began to tie thread to a needle.

"Ready, mademoiselle?" The doctor asked Elise. Elise nodded her head up and down, indicating that she was ready. The doctor pierced Elise's skin with the needle, winding up and down the wound. Elise winced each time the needle pierced her skin. Once the doctor finished stitching Elise up, Sophie Trenet approached her.

"Merry Christmas Elise, and Good morning to you." Trenet greeted Elise, a smile coming across her face.

"Same to you, Sophie." Elise replied, as Helene came into the main hall, with Francois cradled in her arms. Helene handed Francois to Elise. Elise cradled Francois in her arms.

"Merry Christmas, Madame Elise!" Helene said, with excitement in her voice.

"Same to you, Helene!" Elise replied, with a smile on her face. Helene left the room, as Elise began to rock Francois.

"I hear Napoleon survived the assassination attempt." Trenet inquired. "Who was behind it?

Elise cleared her throat.

"The man behind it was Francois-Joseph Carbon." Elise replied. "He intended to blow up Napoleon's carriage with an improvised explosive device called Machine Infernale, using snipers to blow it up when it was in range of the carriage. Arno and myself eliminated the snipers, before it exploded near Palais-Royal. The sniper who shot the device from Palais-Royal led us to a run-down building on Rue Marchand, where Carbon was hiding. We made sure he met his end in the building."

"Excellent news to hear, Elise." Trenet replied. "I will be sure to let the rest of the Council know."

Trenet turned around, and handed Elise two piece of parchment. Elise read the titles on the parchment.

"Tree of Porcupines, and A Dream in Absentia" Elise read. "Are these your essays, Sophie?"

"Yes they are. I wrote them over the span of a few weeks. I figured you would like them." Trenet replied.

"Thank you, Sophie. Do you happen to know where Arno is?" Elise asked, as Trenet was walking away. Trenet turned around.

"I'm not sure where he went." Trenet replied. "He spoke of going out to get a gift for someone, but I'm not sure for who."

"Thank you, Sophie." Elise said, with a smile on her face. Elise sat on the couch, and continued to rock Francois.

"It's alright, little one." Elise said, in a hushed tone. "Momma is back."

Elise planted a kiss on her son's forehead, when she heard a familiar voice, and the bark of a dog.

"Merry Christmas, Elise!"

Elise looked up to see Arno, and a white and brown pitbull-boxer cross puppy on a leash. Elise placed her hands over her mouth with excitement.

"Oh my God Arno, I haven't had a dog since I was a little girl!"

Arno walked up to Elise. The puppy leaped up on the couch, and licked Elise on the cheek.

"Do you have a name for her, Elise?" Arno asked, with a large smile on his face.

"I think I will name her Persephone." Elise replied, as Persephone continued to lick her. Arno walked over to the fireplace, and placed a couple of logs in the frieplace. After a few moments fidgeting around with the kindling, Arno successfully lit a fire. He scooped up Francois from Elise's hands, and sat down beside her. Persephone fell down on Elise's lap, and fell asleep. Arno watched as Francois fell asleep in his arms, and turn to see Elise had placed her head on Arno's shoulder, and had fallen asleep. Arno placed his hand on Elise's waist.

 _I don't know where I would be if I didn't have you, my love._ Arno thought, as he ruffled his hand through her red hair. _We've been through hell and back, and I wouldn't want to do it with anyone but you._

Arno gently placed Elise's head on a pillow, and lifted her legs onto the couch. Persephone got down from the couch, and followed Arno and Francois to their quarters. Arno gently placed Francois in his crib. As Arno walked away, Helene began to rock Francois in his crib. Arno returned to the couch, to see Elise fast asleep on the couch. Arno scooped up Elise, and carried her to their quarters. Helene smiled when she saw Elise asleep in Arno's arms. Arno gently placed Elise in the bed, and smiled when he saw Persephone get up onto the bed, and lay down on Elise's stomach, falling asleep on top of her new Madame.


End file.
